The biggest reason entrepreneurs procrastinate and how to stop

As an entrepreneur, you have a lot on your plate. Between managing employees, meeting with clients, and working on the product itself, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks at hand.

And if you're anything like me—or most people who are busy trying to run their own business—you probably procrastinate more often than not. But there's a difference between taking some time off from work because you need to recharge and putting off important work for no reason at all (and feeling guilty about it).

Signs you are a procrastinating

Procrastination is a way of managing your emotions. It’s a coping mechanism, especially when you have a lot of stress in your life.

For example:

• You might procrastinate when something makes you anxious or angry because it helps prevent the negative feelings of overwhelm
• If something makes you feel guilty, procrastinating can give you time to figure out how to make amends before having to face it head on
• Having a hard time staying on track, easily distracted from any task at hand. They don't want or enjoy putting things off, far from it, they know how important it is for them to focus on their work.
• Want everything done just right before moving onto another task. This might sound like a great quality on the surface (who doesn't want their work done well?), but perfectionists spend more time on tasks than necessary because they can never satisfy themselves with an outcome that isn't perfect according to their own standards.

Procrastinators aren't lazy, they're overwhelmed. They don't want to admit something, and they just can't get started, despite their strong desire to finish it

The good news! There is a way forward

Some people think that procrastination is just a bad habit, It's important to acknowledge that while procrastinating, it's also a way of managing your emotions. In fact, the main reason people procrastinate is because they're trying to avoid something that makes them feel anxious or uncomfortable.

This is why it's so important to understand what makes you feel anxious and uncomfortable—so that when it’s time for action, you have the tools needed to take control of those feelings instead of letting them control you.

The good news is that once you learn how your emotions are affecting you, there are ways to manage them and improve your productivity.

Here's a few tools to help manage your emotions:

• Acknowledge the difference between positive and negative thinking. Understand how our inner thoughts influence our feelings
• Identify the different types of emotions you feel (and what they mean), paying attention to when and where strong emotions are showing up so that you can manage areas that trigger these feelings
• Learning how to put aside anger until it's appropriate, replacing destructive thoughts with more helpful ones
• Accepting responsibility for your feelings rather than blaming others or circumstances for them (and then taking action based on those responsibilities).
• Learn how to manage your time. Pause the many distractions like social media or the latest trending drama, instead focus on the most important tasks.

Conclusion

The best way to avoid procrastination is to understand why you're doing it. If you're feeling guilty or anxious, think about what other emotions are causing that feeling.

Once you've identified those feelings and managed them, imagine the feeling of getting things done and the possibilities of what you will create as well as the consequences of not doing it, your productivity will increase dramatically!

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